Posted by BJI recently saw, “Only the Lonely”, a romantic comedy starring John Candy, original released in 1991. I had seen this movie when it first came out and enjoyed it as much upon the second viewing and highly recommend it.

In the film, John Candy plays the part of Danny, a Chicago cop. He uses, but never abuses, his position as a cop to engineer some great romantic moments, such as taking his girlfriend to a private picnic on Wrigley Field* for a picnic, complete with a fire works display. When Danny is able to make things happen because of his position he states, “Sometimes it’s good to be a cop.” This phrase is used several times in the movie.

When Danny encounters difficulties associated with his job he states, “Sometimes it’s hard to be a cop.” This line is also stated several times during the movie.

This got me thinking about our profession: What if Danny were a proposal professional? (yep, even while watching a movie I’m thinking proposals. Scary, I know.). What events would have Danny saying, “Sometimes it’s good to be a proposal professional.” And which would evoke a, “Sometimes it’s hard to a proposal professional.”

What aspects of the work or events that typically take place during a proposal effort make you glad you’re a proposal professional? Which ones make you wish you had stayed in law school or taken a job with the post office? Let us know and Jon and I will follow up with our comments.​

When any colleague comes to you when they have a specific MS Word problem and it appears you are the only guy who knows how to fix it, it is a “Sometimes it is good to be a proposal professional”..

Other times when you are the only person working away into the night trying to get that proposal out it is “Sometimes it’s hard to be a proposal profesisonal”

Reply

Tom Campbell

3/26/2016 02:35:00 am

I manage and support health care related contract proposals. The part I enjoy most is teaching technical experts how to get their points across using contemporary business text… substantiating strengths and stripping the hyperbole.

Reply

Vanessa P

3/26/2016 02:35:15 am

It’s good when the team pulls together and you get a quality document to the customer. It’s also good when someone says “thank you”.

It’s bad when you feel you’re fighting with people to produce a quality response that keeps the customer interested.

Reply

Natalie

3/26/2016 02:35:27 am

It’s good when: you are able to transform a piece of writing that either is features heavy or doesn’t answer the question into a responsive and benefit-laden message.
It hard when: you are doing long hours and struggling to communicate how to develop a quality response.